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This Day in Baseball History
December 2nd

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21 Fact(s) Found
1927 Heinie Manush, after just his fourth season in the big leagues, is traded by the Tigers, along with first baseman Lu Blue, to the Browns for hurler Elam Vangilder, infielder Chick Galloway, and outfielder Harry Rice. In 2,008 career games, Manush, a future Hall of Fame outfielder, collects 2,524 hits to finish his 17-year career with a .330 lifetime batting average.
1941 The Giants promote skipper Bill Terry as the team's new general manager. Mel Ott, a future Hall of Famer, will serve as New York's player-manager for the next seven years, but the club will never finish above third place.
1944 Japan mourns the death of Yomiuri Giant hurler Eiji Sawamura, lost in action when the USS Sea Devil torpedoes his ship off the coast near Yakushima. As a 17-year-old high schooler, the Japanese right-hander became a national hero when he struck out Charlie Gehringer, Babe Ruth Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jimmie Foxx in succession in an exhibition game in 1934.
1948 Cardinals outfielder Stan Musial is named the National League Most Valuable Player. 'Stan the Man' led the NL in hitting with a .376 batting average and 131 RBIs but barely missed the Triple Crown when his 39 home runs total is one less than hit by Johnny Mize and Ralph Kiner, the league's leaders.

(Ed. Note: Stan Musial would have tied for the league lead with 40 home runs and accomplished the rare feat had a home run in a rained-out game counted in his season totals. - LP)

1952 Commissioner Ford Frick plans to take action against Jackie Robinson for the comments the infielder made two days ago on the NBC show Youth Wants to Know. In response to a high schooler's question about prejudice in baseball, the Brooklyn second basemen called the Yankees organization racist for its failure to promote a black to the parent club.
1958 The Indians trade first baseman Vic Wertz and flycatcher Gary Geiger to the Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Jimmy Piersall. The Tribe also deals the 1954 American League batting champ Bobby Avila to the Orioles for minor league hurler Russ Heman and $30,000.
1963 The Pacific Coast League expands to 12 teams when the Indianapolis and Little Rock franchises move from the International League to join the circuit. The IL will now operate with only one division consisting of eight clubs.
1963 The Angels trade left fielder Leon Wagner to the Indians for right-hander Barry Latman and Joe Adcock, the player to be named later. The veteran first baseman will finish his 17-year career with California, batting .259 and hitting 53 home runs during his three-year stint with the team.
1963 The Major League Rules Committee bans oversized catcher gloves, starting with the 1965 season. The larger catcher mitt was devised in 1960 by Orioles manager Paul Richards to help his backstops catch Hoyt Wilhelm's knuckleball.
1965 The Cubs trade pitcher Lindy McDaniel and outfielder Don Landrum to the Giants for catcher Randy Hundley and pitcher Bill Hands. Chicago's new acquisitions will play a major role in rebuilding the 'lovable losers' into contenders later in the decade.
1978 Mark Belanger wins his eighth and final Gold Glove, an award created by the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings to recognize outstanding fielding performances at each position. The Orioles shortstop won his first in 1969, along with his Baltimore teammates, third baseman Brooks Robinson, second baseman Davey Johnson, and outfielder Paul Blair.
1991 The Mets sign Pirates' free-agent Bobby Bonilla to a $29 million, five-year deal. The 28-year-old, highly touted outfielder will hit only .249 during the first year of his contract for an under-achieving fifth-place New York club and will be traded to the Orioles near the trading deadline in 1995.
1993 Future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, who hit .274 and averaged 96.5 RBIs during his two seasons in the Big Apple, leaves New York to sign a free-agent deal with the Indians. The Mets had signed the then 36-year-old first baseman as one of several acquisitions, including Bobby Bonilla, Willie Randolph, and Bret Saberhagen, in a futile attempt to improve the club's performance on the field.
2005 The Marlins continue to slash their payroll by dealing Gold Glove second baseman Luis Castillo to the Twins. In return for the switch-hitter, Florida gets a pair of right-handed pitching prospects, Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler.
2008 Seventy-five-year-old Ted Rogers, owner of the Blue Jays since 2000, dies at home. After being treated for an existing heart condition in the fall, the media magnate had turned over his corporate duties to Alan Horn, Rogers Communications chairman and acting chief executive officer.
2008 Mets COO Jeff Wilpon says the team's new ballpark's name will remain Citi Field, disregarding suggestions naming the venue Citi/Taxpayer Field made by two NYC council members. Citigroup, a struggling financial institution benefiting from a bailout from the federal government, pays the franchise $400 million over 20 years for naming rights to the stadium.
2008 In a ceremony at the Consul General of Japan's home, the island nation honors former Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda for his contributions to Japanese baseball. The Hall of Famer receives the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette medal on behalf of the emperor for his work with players and teams in this Asian nation since 1965.
2009 The Braves and left-hander Billy Wagner agree on a $7 million, one-year deal for the southpaw to become the club's closer, replacing Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez. The six-time All-Star, who missed most of last season due to elbow surgery, was traded by the Mets to the Red Sox in late August after the reliever showed he still had a live fastball in his initial appearance off the disabled list in New York.
2009 The Dodgers announce that 81-year-old broadcaster Vin Scully will continue to do play-by-play for the team in 2010. The Hall of Fame announcer started calling games for the club when 'Dem Bums' still played in Brooklyn sixty years ago.
2013 The Nationals obtain Tigers starter Doug Fister for southpaws Ian Krol, Robbie Ray, and infielder Steve Lombardozzi. Washington's acquisition of the 29-year-old right-hander improves the team's already strong rotation, including Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and Gio Gonzalez.
2021 At midnight, the major league owners locked out its players, initiating baseball's ninth work stoppage and the first in a quarter century. In response to the players' demand for a larger revenue share, the end service time manipulation, and incentivizing competition, the lockout cancels the MLB Winter Meetings, freezing free agency and other personnel transactions.
21 Fact(s) Found